As soon as he heard the word "war", Steve's face immediately became serious.

This is a very serious word, because it often means a war. Portugal is no longer the country that clamored to conquer the whole world a hundred years ago. Today, Portugal only has a few warships, five or six hundred soldiers and thousands of expatriates in Macau. Once a war against the huge Ming Empire begins, fools will know what the outcome will be.

Taking a deep breath, Steve sincerely said to Yang Feng: "Marquis, I have no intention of being an enemy of your country. To be honest, my term in Macau has been less than two years, and I just want to spend this time quietly. Here I promise you as the Governor of Portugal to Macau that as long as your country does not take back Macau, what requirements will your country have during my term? As long as I can do it, I will try my best to satisfy you!"

Logically speaking, being able to say such words to Yang Feng as Steve is considered to be a bow, but Yang Feng still shook his head.

"Governor General, I have just said that this is a sovereignty issue and an issue that cannot be discussed. We must take back Macau. However, I can promise you that after we take back Macau, your merchant ships can dock and replenish supplies in Macau, except for warships. Finally, I can also give you a promise, that is, our country will open up trade with your country, and your country can use gold and silver to purchase our country's goods, such as porcelain, tea, silk, etc.."

After hearing Yang Feng's words, Steve felt sad and happy. What was sad was that Portugal's only place to settle in the East was taken back. What was happy was that the Ming Dynasty actually opened silk, tea, porcelain and other items to him. This was unimaginable in the past. He didn't know what would happen if the news was transmitted back to the country.

"Go to war with the Ming Dynasty!"

This thought just flashed through his mind, and then he threw it out of the sky. What a joke, just relying on the warships and hundreds of soldiers in his hands? That is not a war, but a death.

Moreover, as far as he knows, the sea ban policy implemented over the years of Ming Dynasty made various specialties such as silk, tea, etc. become scarce items in the Western world. So far, no country can openly do business in the Ming Dynasty in the name of the official. If Portugal can become the first country to establish commercial cooperation with the Ming Dynasty, then the benefits for Portugal will be huge.

When he thought of this, Steve's heart was filled with a huge stream of joy, and even the grief and anger that was taken back in Macau was diluted a lot.

"Marquis," Steve said while thinking, "If your country can open up commodity restrictions and open trade exchanges to our country, our country is very welcome. However, due to the serious concern, please allow me to report to the country and will be able to give you a reply by June next year."

"Okay, that's all." Yang Feng sighed helplessly. Portugal and Ming Dynasty were thousands of miles apart. It would take more than half a year to go back and forth. It would be soon to get a reply from Portugal in June next year.

After Yang Feng expressed his understanding, he said seriously: "But I would like to remind you here that we will take back Macau's sovereignty by July next year. Your country's warships and soldiers in Macau will leave. You'd better be mentally prepared."

Steve answered with a hum.

Seeing Steve's expression a little resentful, Yang Feng smiled faintly: "Governor General, you don't have to feel frustrated or sad. Now I have a small suggestion. I don't know if you are willing to listen to it?"

"After saying that!" Steve answered angrily.

"You know that recently we set up a school in Xiamen called Fujian Naval Officer School. Due to the lack of teachers, I want to hire naval officers from your country in Macau and some experienced sailors and sergeants to teach there. The treatment is guaranteed to be generous. I wonder what you think?"

"You want to hire our officers to give lectures?" Steve was both angry and funny when he heard this proposal. He just swears to take back Macau and even go to war with us. Now he wants to hire our officers to teach knowledge, reserved... What about you Ming people who are particular about reserve?

"Please forgive me, I can't make decisions about this." Steve replied with a stern face.

"No...you can make the decision." Yang Feng stared at Stephen with a bright look and raised his voice: "You should be very clear that the era when Portugal dominated the sea has passed. Now it is the Spanish, the English and the Dutch who are competing for the position of maritime overlords. For Portugal, the most important thing is not how much territory is established overseas, but business and trade, because this will bring countless wealth to Portugal, which is the most important thing."

“Are there countless wealth?”

Steve murmured and repeated a sentence, with a hesitant look on his face. He had to say that Yang Feng's last words touched him. Unlike the traditional Confucian scholars regarding money as a thing of Adu, Westerners never shy away from their pursuit of wealth. Why did Portugal travel thousands of miles to the Ming Dynasty and rent Macau in a silly manner? It was not for wealth. Now that Yang Feng promised to open up commodity restrictions to Portugal and establish trade exchanges, it seems that whether Macau is a small place is not that important.

Thinking of this, Steve finally nodded slowly: "Okay, I will try my best to convince our king. But before that, I am willing to send you fifty officers and one hundred sailors to serve as instructors for the naval school you set up."

"Is that... that's great!"

Yang Feng was delighted when he heard this. Although Portugal has begun to fall, the quality of Portugal's naval is still quite high, not inferior to the Dutch. With their help, the combat effectiveness of the Fujian Navy can be further improved within half a year.

After the negotiations were made, the atmosphere became more relaxed. Yang Feng and Steve started chatting.

After the two sides talked, Yang Feng found that Steve was actually quite good at chatting. What is particularly commendable is that he had a certain understanding of the politics, economy, and systems of the Ming Dynasty, so the two of them still had a good chat.

What Yang Feng didn't know was that Steve was even more surprised, because he found that the marquis of the Ming Dynasty not only had a very good understanding of Obarrow's history, but also had the history of countries such as Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France and England, and some things were even more proficient than Steve. Moreover, his words and behavior were very different from those of the Ming officials of this era. In Steve's opinion, he looked more like a polite aristocrat.
Chapter completed!